Bangkok’s sex industry has a gravitational pull on the economically disadvantaged women and girls from the northeast of Thailand. Poverty puts rural farmers and their families on the brink of calamity. All it takes is a severe illness or drought to push them over the edge. As such, young women are often groomed to be the family sacrifice for survival. Bangkok offers hope of a job and economic opportunity for women to save their extended family from complete ruin. Such was the case for Mint.
A neighbor from her home village told Mint she had a good job for her at a restaurant in Bangkok. Mint was orphaned at 6 and out of school by 15. Now at 19, an abusive relationship ended poorly and left her alone as a single mom. Mint was desperate. She needed to support her grandmother and younger brother as well as her child. Mint left her young son with her grandmother and rushed to Bangkok for the promised job. It turned out to be a full service massage parlor. When her boss tried to force her to have sex with clients, Mint refused and fought them off. Mint's neighbor then took her to the streets and prostituted her.
After the initial adjustment, Mint liked having money to send home. But as time went on, she turned to alcohol and drugs and the money disappeared. One night a client violently raped Mint and nearly killed her.
Not long after that traumatic experience, Mint was referred to NightLight. She began to work on the t-shirt silk-screening project and to participate in discipleship classes. It didn't take long for Mint to give her life to Christ and to find healing. Mint learned to play the guitar and has become one of NightLight's key worship leaders and outreach members. The outreach team not only builds relationships with Thai women in prostitution but also reaches out to international women who are trafficked to Thailand.
Over 160 women have been employed by NightLight in Bangkok. The workweek includes discipleship classes, worship, counseling, and other life-skills training. The children of the women are cared for in the free childcare center, and family members are invited to church. NightLight believes that to bring full restoration, the impact must go beyond the economic to the spiritual, emotional, and communal life as well.
Mint's life has been changed since working at NightLight. Having an economic alternative is an essential part of bringing liberation to women who have been trafficked or prostituted. The exit or rescue is only the beginning of freedom. At the same time, a job alone does not restore a woman to her true identity and humanity. There is a well of pain and trauma that lies beneath the surface.
Most organizations that provide after care for survivors struggle to support the financial burden of restoration. When the rescue is over, the support often dwindles before the woman is fully restored and ready to thrive on her own. Without intentional and holistic after care, victims who are rescued often find themselves vulnerable again. Left alone, the familiarity of their slavery can begin to look like the best option for survival.
A successful business can provide the wages and benefits needed to sustain a woman while giving her the opportunity to reach full restoration. When the greater community invests in freedom products, we can help vulnerable women reach their full potential.
For Mint’s sake and other women and girls, may it be so.
Annie Dieselberg, founding CEO of NightLight International, is passionate about the global church and community working together to free, heal, and restore all who have been broken and wounded by sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Annie and her family have lived in Bangkok, Thailand, since 1994.
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